Forget waiting until March 17 to celebrate St. Patrick's Day — you can go green as early as this weekend.

Green with frenzy at Sheridan's

Sheridan's Irish Pub will host its 9th annual block party, a precursor to their St. Patty's Day party, which will feature adult tricycle races (outside Sheridan's on Main Street) on Saturday (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.). Trophies will be awarded to the winner of the men's division and winner of the lady's division.

The block party will include music from DJ Jay (4 p.m. to 8 p.m.) and live tunes from Glass Onion (8 p.m. to 12 a.m.). At the end of the night, a cab driver will be on site for folks in need of a designated driver, said Shirley Sheridan, co-owner of Sheridan's Irish Pub with her husband, Joe.

On March 17, the official day of St. Patty's Day, Sheridan's will kick the day off with a traditional Irish breakfast (9 a.m. to 11 a.m.) that will include scrambled eggs, Irish sausage, Irish bacon, beans and stewed tomatoes. Then acoustic duo Benny and Bill will provide the venue's soundtrack with traditional Irish tunes.

"The awesome thing this year is we have a weekend between, so people have a chance to rest up from the block party to the St. Patrick's Day party," Shirley said.

"If it's not broke, don't fix it," she said. "We stick with the same [motto]: come have fun and behave yourselves."

Taste of Ireland at Celtic Pub

The Celtic Pub will host a St. Patty's Day celebration from Saturday until March 17, offering corned beef and cabbage each day. The Celtic Pub will also host karaoke with DJ Karnival Chris on Saturday and Monday (from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.).

This Saturday also marks the second anniversary of the Celtic Pub, which further excites its owners, John and Shanan Engle.

"We've met a lot of great people since we've been in town," John said. "It's been a great second year and we look forward to many more."

Page 2 of 3 - Parade Sunday: walking the green mile

Presented by the Smyrna-Clayton July 4th Association, the 6th annual St. Patrick's Parade will be bigger and better with more than 40 organizations and businesses (compared to last year's 30-plus participants) that are slated to grace the event on Sunday.

The parade will start at St. Polycarp Roman Catholic Church (located on Ransom Street) and work its way to George C. Wright Jr. Municipal Park (on Main Street). The deadline for groups to register in the parade is this Saturday at 5 p.m. See the information box for more info.

"I love parades and I also love giving back to the community," beamed Masten. "I'm very excited."

WHERE Starting from St. Polycarp Catholic Church on Ransom Lane at South Street. Parade route goes from St. Polycarp, left onto High Street, right onto Commerce Street and left onto Main Street to George C. Wright Jr. Municipal Park.

Page 3 of 3 - COST Free

INFO To register for the parade, call Joanne Masten at 653-6235; registration ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 10